When I give, I give myself
by ExpectNothing46
Summary: Aikawa Akira, freshly graduated from the Academy and soon to be dead considering her new Taicho's murderous grin. Or when beating noble brats gets you into the eleventh division. (Currently rewriting into shorter chapters for more regular updates)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Life is a test**

That day had been particularly hot.

Aikawa Akira looked up at the results of the final exam displayed on the bulletin board. She had already bought some pastries to celebrate with Tsubaki knowing she would pass. Except from Kido, the tests had been fairly easy.

Five years had just gone by and she couldn't have been happier to leave this prison, more commonly known as the Shin'o Academy. The overwhelming majority of the first class had been noble kids, self-centred and spoiled brats. She usually ignored their pitiful attempt at taunting her. But that day they crossed the line. Bumping hard into her and purposely stepping on her fallen pastry box.

They screamed when she broke the first bones but were quickly silenced. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand and left.

Later that day, a hell butterfly reported that she had been summoned by the first division. Damn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Rules are made to be broken**

It wasn't unusual for the captains to hold a meeting at that specific period as most of the sixth year students had just graduated. However the timetable this time had been especially interesting so the Taichos were all present. When the doors of the meeting room opened, the attention turned to the brunette coming in. The amount of reiatsu her five feet and seven inches emitted was inexistent, at least in the eyes of the strongest fighters of the Soul Society.

"Aikawa Akira. You have sent three of your former classmates to the fourth division, with twelve broken bones. Each. Is that right?" She nodded.

"Which division have you applied for?"

"I haven't yet sir." Her reply was fluid and polite, her face void of any emotions, carefully hiding the fact that she totally forgot to.

Yamamoto's mouth formed a straight line, he knew he had to make the announcement, whether he wished to or not. He didn't want to deal with her tears and he loathed taking away this young shinigami's future. But even so, he had to release the bomb.

"The... victims require you join the eleventh division."

He braced himself for her sobbing.

And it never came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid**

The girl's sobbing never came. Instead, the wave of reactions among the captains was immediate.

"No way", Kenpachi spat, looking down at the girl like she was mere trash.

Most of the captains expressed their disagreement, especially Jushiro and Komamura whose fatherly side seemed to have kicked in. Mayuri and Byakuya had yet to voice their opinions, the former scanning through some documents Nemu brought him, the latter because he knew exactly the extent of the nobles' influence.

Akira had been looking out the window during the whole interaction between the captains, waiting for them to come to a final verdict. At the sound of her name, she looked up at the Captain Commander, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Aikawa Akira, we'd like to hear your opinion."

 _Why? Do I have a say in this matter? Or are you expecting me to beg for mercy?_ Those thoughts briefly crossed her mind.

"I am ready to face any consequences, sir", was all she responded, eyes closed.

Her answer had obviously destabilized them as they stared silently at her.

"Are you implying you'll actually agree to join the eleventh division?"

 _Are you implying I can choose my punishment?_ This time she had to bit her tongue in order to keep her thoughts to herself.

"I shall comply with the orders."

"Do you even realize in what you're getting yourself?" Hirako was the one who voiced the question all captains and lieutenants shared in their head. She only blinked lazily at his question.

"Haven't you heard some... rumours about the eleventh division?"

"I haven't", she made sure her answers were breve and simple. Tsubaki had made her promise to deal with them with "all the respect they deserved". Sometimes she wondered if her friend was being sarcastic. Intending to keep her promise, she continued her sentence mentally: _and I don't care._

"Interesting", Mayuri finally took his nose out of his documents. His face bore a devilish grin as if he had just found a new specimen worth the attention of his scalpel. He suddenly released a strong wave of reiatsu, nothing compared to his real abilities but enough to make the lieutenants slightly uncomfortable.

The girl's eyes rolled back in her head, her knees hit the ground and she fell gracelessly on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Good Things Never Come In Twos (But Bad Things Do)**

The girl's eyes rolled back in her head, her knees hit the ground and she fell gracelessly on her face. Ukitake tried to catch her but took a step back when two figures suddenly appeared in front of the now unconscious girl. All the attention of the room switched to the newcomers. The lieutenants had their hands on the hilt of their zanpakuto, ready to fend off any surprise attack. The captains also tensed a little, wondering how the hell they entered without anyone noticing. Even Mayuri who had doubts about the girl hadn't anticipated this scenario.

"How long are you going to kiss the floor?"

Akira sighted quietly. _Damn those idiots. I have no desire to deal with them now. Couldn't he just pretend I passed out?_ She got up lazily, one hand scratching the back of her neck. Everyone eyed her worriedly, as if Aizen was dancing the cha cha cha with Yamamoto Soutaicho on her forehead. She looked away, silently praying they wouldn't question her about the two unexpected guests. Who was she kidding? Of course they would.

"Fascinating", Kurotsuchi's atypical laugh caught Akira's attention. She wasn't one to judge people by their appearance but his clearly screamed " **caution** : dangerous madman; stay away or regret not having".

"How-"

"A power limiter, obviously." Kurotsuchi cut in. "There was no trace of reiatsu when she first entered the room but her profile from the Academy suggested it should have been otherwise. Regardless of her exceptional lack of talent for Kido, her abilities proved to be far above average. I just pushed the seal to its breaking point. Now, the question is not "how come you're conscious?" but "what are these two?"

Akira reluctantly answered, unconsciously rubbing her neck. "I believe Ao and Aka to be the materialized form of my zanpakuto." Although they had the same height, both with short hair and wearing the same white and black yukata, the boy standing on Akira's right had light blue eyes while the girl standing on her left seemed to be asleep, mumbling incoherent things under her breath. "They appeared the day before yesterday during the last test. The reiatsu limiter is the only way to keep them in for the moment being." Kurotsuchi's grin stretched even more than Akira had thought possible.

"I would gladly help you with that unfortunate matter, provided you come work for me as a test subject. There's nothing to worry about, I'll do my best to avoid your death." His hands closed in a creepy "come here" motion. "I'll even give you a seated position." The girl had graduated in five years instead of six and had outstanding grades. Moreover he hadn't come across materialized zanpakuto since the Muramasa incident. He knew this girl would be worth it. And coincidentally, his 20th seat had just died during his last experimentation.

"I object Soutaicho-dono!" Soi Fon was revolted by her fellow captain's sickening scheme.

Soon the room filled with shouts: Mayuri, Soi Fon, Zaraki and even Kensei who someone managed to get involved were throwing insults at each other. Yamamoto Soutaicho was about to hit the ground with the end of his cane when the doors opened. It was time for the next summon. They had spent too much time on this issue.

"Aikawa Akira, you will be informed of your punishment later. You may leave." She bowed and proceeded toward the exit while another young woman was walking in. She had vibrant red hair which reached her waist and her green eyes made contact with Akira's. She mumbled something under her breath. When they passed each other, Akira quietly thanked her, rubbing her neck where a tattoo had just appeared, as Ao and Aka vanished into thin air.

"Mikami Tsubaki reporting."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: People are all escapees of their own inner prisons**

Akira lay on her futon, her eyes fixing the blue ceiling. She felt a little bad for letting Tsubaki deal with the Captains' inquiries. However she was better suited to talk about the reiatsu limiter since she was the one who made it. And even if the Soutaicho hadn't known about their relationship, as the second-in-command of the Kidō Corps, being able to answer anything regarding power limiters was a given for her red-haired friend.

Anyway, she was glad Tsubaki had arrived before Aka had woken up. Else her red-eyed zanpakuto would have probably tried to fight every Shinigami in the room, effectively signing their own death warrant.

A few hours later, Akira woke up at the sound of the door opening. She wondered what took her friend so long and soon found the answer. The door of her room slide open.

"You will join the eleventh division." She reported.

Akira slowly got up into a seated position, her eyes widening a fraction.

"Tsubaki… I don't know how to say this but…" Akira frowned, her lip curling up in disapproval.

"…There's a bluish ball of fur standing behind you…"

Instantly, the intruder started roaring swear words at her; at least that was what he was in Akira's eyes. An intruder. Well technically it was Tsubaki's house but having lived there for five years, Akira considered it as hers. So apparently the intruder had a name. A funny one if you asked her.

 _Grimmjow._


End file.
